It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time when we lived without the internet. Shocking, right? In those days, wireless networking systems were but a sparkle in an engineer’s eye – so if you wanted to automate your home, you had to use the existing infrastructure in your home, via your electrical or phone line.

For years, people used wires and cabling to streamline the technology in their home. Appliances and devices were connected by wires that ran from one outlet to the next in a ‘daisy chain’ of cords and cables.

It’s a system that worked, and structured wiring takes the concept one step further, by including one central port from which all wires and cabling are run.

What does it do?
Structured wiring is the network of all of the communications wiring in your home, and acts as a central location for your home automation system. From your telephone, heating and cooling, audio-visual set-up and lighting to alarms and surveillance, structured wiring combines all of your home wiring into one central, structured system.

Structured wiring works by feeding all of the wires, outlets and associated cabling that go with your various systems in to one central location, in what is commonly referred to as a ‘home run configuration’.

One of the primary benefits of structured wiring is its strong network capability. The frequency on which wire is capable of transmitting is rated in units of mega-hertz (MHz), and is often referred to as bandwidth. Category 3 cable is rated up to 16MHz; Category 5 cable is rated 100MHz. Structured wiring systems often use Category 5 or higher, and as a result, it is becoming increasingly popular with people who wish to install large or complex home automation systems.

Who should use structured wiring?
Structured wiring systems can be appropriate for all levels of home automation, but it’s suitability truly depends on your HA needs, both now and in the future.

When installing a structured wiring system, you have many choices when it comes to wiring types. The rule is simple: the higher the quality of the cabling you use, the more superior your system becomes. You may not need all of the capabilities that advanced cables can provide right away, but they might be just what you want in five years time. And because it’s generally more expensive to upgrade your system retrospectively, your best bet is to think about your wants for the future, today.

Having said that, the process doesn’t need to be too complex. If you wish to install a simple structured wiring system with basic capabilities, the cost can be as low as $400-$500, fully installed – dependant, of course, on your set-up and the number of devices involved.

There are plenty of other things to like about structured wiring, including its consistent signal quality. Structured wiring systems don’t require electrical splices, which can be prone to malfunction and can pick up noise and interference. These systems are also easy to configure, and they make trouble-shooting less difficult, as each of the cables can be separated from the rest for testing if required.

On the downside, installation of structured wiring can be quite comprehensive, and in many cases, will need to be handled professionally. You’ll need to budget for labor expenses for the initial installation, and if you think you might eventually upgrade your system, you’ll have to factor in installation costs down the track. For this very reason, it’s advisable to consider all of your current and planned home automation needs at the beginning of your project.

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